Container punch



Jul 5, 1938. A, C ACKER 2,122,830

CONTAINER PUNCH Filed April 18, 1936 Patented-July 5, 1938 PATENT OFFICECONTAINER PUNCH Aaron 0. Actor, Ogdensburg, N. Y., assignor to TheNowell Mtg. 00., Ogdensburg, N. 2., a corporation of Maine ApplicationApril 18, 1936, Serial No. 75,215

Claims. (01. 30-18).

The present invention relates to a punch for producing a pouring openingin a wall of a container, such as a can, which opening will be ofsubstantial dimensions in order that the con- 5 tents of the containermay be poured therethrough.

An object of the invention is to provide such a container punch which ischaracterized by the ease and rapidity with which it may be manipulatedto strike a pouring opening in the wall of a container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container punch ofsuch construction and manher of manipulation that the possibility ofspilling the contents of the container is minimized, even though thelatter is filled with such a liquid as beer which is likely to bubbleforth when the opening is struck.

In the drawing, which illustrates the construction of and manner inwhich the tool oi the invention is manipulated,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the punch of the invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the punch, showing the same in asubstantially vertical position with respect to a container as appliedto the same before the pouring opening is struck;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view of the punch taken along theline 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure ills a side elevational view of the punch similar to Figure 2,but showing the position of the punch with respect to the container whenthe pouring opening is partly formed;

Figure 5 is a partial side elevational view of the punch similar toFigures 2 and 4, showing the relative position of the punch andcontainer when the pouring opening is completely formed; and

Figure 6 is a partial top plan view of the punch and container in theposition of Figure 5.

I'he tool'of the present invention is adapted to be formed from a singlesheet of material and with a minimum number of fabricating operations,with consequent economy of manufacture.

The punch comprises a handle portion H and a blade portion B, said bladeportion being bent at substantially right angles from the lower end ofthe handle portion. By lower end" of the handle portion, I mean to referto the position of the punch when the same is applied to the containerprior to the punch manipulation as shown in Figure 2.

The handle of the punch is flat and is of substantial width, and has aflat inside face it! and a fiatoutside face ii. .The handle is ofconsiderable length, being usually of greater length than the width of apersons hand, so that the handle may be firmly grasped when the punch ismanipulated to strike the pouring opening. Furthermore, the handleportion is of relatively great length with respect to the length of theblade portion, resulting in a lever advantage, which makes itunnecessary to apply any great pressure to the handle portion in orderto penetrate the can with the blade portion.

As shown to advantage in Figure 2, the blade portion B is bent inwardlyand upwardly from the handle portion at l3, to such a degree that theblade portion is at substantially right angles to the flat handleportion. The line of the bend l3 between the handle and blade portionsextends transversely of the length of the handle portion, at rightangles to the edges 01 the same.

The blade portion comprises a part i5 adjacent to the bend i3 whichextends directly inwardly from the face I0 of the handle, and a part Nwhich curves downwardly with respect to the part 55, the latterterminating in a sharp piercing point l8 at the inner and lower end ofthe blade portion. The formation of the blade is such that it'may be,said to be curved downwardly with respect to the container upon which itoperates, the lower face IQ of the blade being concave and the upperface 20 thereof being convex.

Referring particularly to Figure 3, the side cutting edges 23 and 24 ofthe blade converge from the bend E3 to the piercing point l8, and theseedges provide cutting knives which continuously enlarge theopening inthe container wall after said opening has been initially formed by thepiercing point it.

Adjacent the bend between the handle and blade portions, a pivot lug Lis struck outwardly from the body 'of the tool, the major portion ofsaid lug being shown as bent from the face ii of the handle H, leavingan opening or slot. 26 in said handle as shown in Figure 1. The pivotlug is preferably struck from the tool along the longitudinal centerline thereof, so as to provide a symmetrically disposed pivot point inline with the piercing point 88 to facilitate manipulation of the punch.

The pivot lug is hook shaped in side elevation, as shown in Figures 2and 4, having a slightly concave lower face 28 of sufllcient length andof such curvature as to permit the lug to pass over the bead of thecontainer during the movement of the punch from the position ofapplication of Figure 2 to the position of complete formation of thepouring opening of Figure 5.

The pivot lug is bent back upon itself as at 29 to form an end which isadapted to engage under the bead of the container. The end of the lugmay be suitably chamfered to form a sharp line thereon to facilitate theengagement of said end with the undersurface of the container bead. Byproviding the pivot lug at the outer side of the bend between the handleand blade portions, it is not necessary that the handle or blade becurved or otherwise specially formed to accommodate themselves to thebead of the container, as the main body of the tool is entirely clear ofthe bead during manipulation.

The tool is manipulated in the manner disclosed in Figures 2, 4 and 5.It is usually convenient to open containers such as the container Cwhile the same are disposed in upright position upon a table, counter orthe like. The tool is applied to the container with the end of the pivotlug L engaged under the lower rim of the bead of the container, and withthe piercing point l8 contacting with the wall of the container in whichthe pouring opening is to be struck. When the tool is in this positionof application, the handle portion is in substantially verticalposition, and the blade portion is in substantially horizontal position,approximately at right angles to the handle portion. With the tool thusappliedflthe user moves the handle inwardly toward the container in thedirection of the arrow 30 shown in Figure 2, it being evident that thebead of the container will serve as a fulcrum during this movement. Whenforce is thus applied, the piercing point l8 will thrust the initialopening in the wall of the container, and subsequent movement of theblade B inwardly of the container will result in a widening of thisinitial opening by the cutting operation of the diverging edges 23 and24 of the blade B. During this cutting operation, the cutting points onopposite edges of the blade move outwardly from the piercing pointtoward the bend l3.

While the pouring opening may be made simply by turning the tool aroundthe fulcrum provided by the bead of the container in the direction ofthe arrow 30 in Figure 2, the novel construction of the punch whichmakes possible its application to the container in the manner shown inFigure 2, permits direct downward pressure to be applied along thelength of the handle H to strike the opening as shown by the arrow 3|.In opening certain types of containers, the top wall of which may be ofconsiderable strength, difficulty is often encountered in making theinitial opening in the wall, and oftentimes it requires the applicationof considerable strength to retain the container on the table while thetool is being manipulated to make the initial opening in the wall. Theconstruction which permits the application of the tool in the mannershown in Figure 2, with the handle portion in substantially verticalposition, makes unnecessary the application of any extreme force, byreason of the fact that both pivotal and downward movements of the toolmay be utilized in puncturing the opening in the container.

In addition to the advantage discussed above, the construction of thetool which permits its application as shown in Figure 2, minimizes thepossibility of the'container being overturned and the contents spilledduring the striking of the pouring opening. In the usual type ofcontainer punch, the blade and handle portions are not disposed at rightangles to one another, with the pivot lug at the junction of'saidportions, and the pouring opening is effected by an upward movement ofthe handle, resulting in a tendency of the pivot lug to raise thecontainer from the surface upon which it is resting, necessitating theapplication of considerable strength by the user in order to hold thecontainer on the surface on which it is resting.

As the tool is moved inwardly to complete the opening, the broken-outportion 35 of the container wall will be bent outwardly toward the sidewall of the container as shown in Figure 4, and the concave undersurfaceI9 of the blade provides a guide for said broken-out part of thecontainer wall.

The final position of the tool with respect to the container is shown inFigure 5, in which figure the broken-out part of the container wall isshown bent completely in against the adjacent side wall of thecontainer, in a position where it provides no obstruction in pouring thecontents of the container from the opening formed. The pointed end ofthe broken-out part 35 will be bent in against the side wall of thecontainer, and no ragged edges will project to impede the flow of fluidover the inner face of the broken-out part and through the pouringopening. It will be evident that the widest part of the pouring openingwill be adjacent the bead of the container.

After the pouring opening has thus been formed, the tool may be removedfrom the container by simply reversing the movement described above.

In opening containers which are filled with a liquid which is likely toeffervesce, it is necessary to effect a quick opening in the containerwall and to immediately pour out the contents in order to prevent thesame from spilling. Frequently, the pressure within the container issumcient to discharge the contents upon the person opening the same whenthe opening is made.

By reason of the construction of the tool of the present invention, thepivot lug L may be hooked under the edge or bead of the container on theside of the latter opposite to the user, and the opening may be struckby pulling the handle toward the user, so that the broken-out part 35 ofthe container wall will be directed toward the user of the tool.Referring particularly to Figure 4, it will be apparent that if there isa tendency for the material to bubble forth from the opening when thesame is struck, the broken-out part 35 of the container wall will directthe charge of fluid in the direction of the pivot lug L and away fromthe person manipulating the tool. How

ever, the tool may be operated by the user on the near side of thecontainer with equal convenience when operating upon containers having acontent which is not likely to bubble forth when the wall is penetrated.

The tool may be provided at the upper end of the handle with a bottletop engaging projection 36 and a hanging aperture 31.

It will be obvious that I have provided a tool of simple constructionwhich may be manufactured at minimum expense and manipulated with easeand rapidity. It will be further evident that changes may be made in,the construction shown herein without departing from the invention.

I claim:-

1. A punch for producing a pouring opening in a container wall,comprising a handle portion, a blade portion of substantial widthconstituting a prolongation of said handle portion bent at substantiallyright angles from the lower end of said handle portion and transverselyof the length thereof, said blade portion terminating in a sharppiercing point, and a pivot lug for engaging the handle in asubstantially vertical position when engaged with said bead and whensaid piercing point contacts the wall of the container, whereby thepunching operation may be performed by a substantially downward movementof said handle and blade portions.

2. A punch for producing a pouring opening in a container wallcomprising a flat handle portion, a blade portion of substantial widthconstituting a prolongation of said handle portion bent at substantiallyright angles in one direction from the lower end of said handle portionand transversely of the length thereof, said blade portion terminatingin a sharp piercing point,

, and a pivot lug for engaging the bead of the container bent from saidlower end of said handle portion in the opposite direction, said lugbeing positioned to dispose said handle in a substantially verticalposition when engaged with said bead and when said piercing pointcontacts the wall of the container, whereby the punching operation maybe performed by a substantially downward movement of said handle andblade portions.

3. A punch for producing a pouring opening in a container wall,comprising a handle portion, a downwardly curved blade portion ofsubstantial width constituting a prolongation of said handle portionbent at substantially right angles from the lower end of said handleportion and transversely of the length thereof, said blade portionterminating in a sharp piercing point, and a pivot lug for engaging thebead of the container on said punch at the outer side of the bendbetween said handle and blade portion, said lug being positioned todispose said handle in a substantialiy vertical position when engagedwith said bead and when said piercing point contacts the wall of thecontainer, whereby the punching operation may be performed by asubstantially downward movement of said handle and blade portions.

4. A punch for producing a pouring opening in a container wall,comprising a flat handle por--v tion terminating at its lower end in ablade portion of substantial width constituting a prolongation of saidhandle portion bent at substantially right angles from said handleportion and transversely of the length thereof, said blade portion,

terminating in a sharp piercing point, and a pivot lug for engaging thebead of the container struck from said material at the outer side of'thebend thereof between said handle and blade portions, said lug beingpositioned to dispose said handle in a substantially vertical positionwhen engaged with said head and when said piercing point contacts thewall of the container whereby the punching operation may be performed bya substantially downwardmovement of said handle and blade portions.

5. A can opener formed from a straight flat strip of metal, with ahandle at one end and a fulcral portion at the other end, said fulcralportion being relatively narrow and formed to engage the underside ofthe bead formed around the top of the can, with an integral cuttingprong adjacent said fulcral portion, for cutting a tongue of can metaldownwardly out of the top of the can, the cutting prong and handle beingof the same width, which is the full width of said strip, with the edgesof the strip of metal presented laterally of the vertical plane in whichthe device operates upon the fulcral point, all in eifect forming alever of the second order, with the cutting resistance between thefulcrum and the point where the power is applied, and with the saidhandle erect and in position to be moved downwardly toward the top ofthe can, when the fulcral portion is in position and the cutting prongis in initial engagement with the top of the can.

AARON C. ACKER-

